Compatibility in Electrical Wire Interconnect Systems

Materials and Platings for

GALVANIC COMPATIBILITY

Selecting base materials and surface finishes for durability and electrical performance

Dissimilar Metals Metal parts with significantly different anodic indices can foster galvanic corrosion, reducing interconnect system durability, environmental sealing, and electrical conductivity— particularly in harsh salt sea applications. While certain dissimilar conductive platings can safely be used, other combinations may lead to catastrophic failure. The best rule of thumb is to always use exact or nearly exact material finishes in multi-component assemblies. Selective Ground Paths Shielded interconnect cable assemblies require a highly conductive, low-resistance ground path from cable shield to backshell to connector, to ensure EMI/RFI electromagnetic compatibility. While damage to surface finishes from corrosion or rough handling is not necessarily fatal, the practice of isolating ground paths to an internal component, such as is accomplished with this unplated composite Swing- Arm™ backshell plus drop-in termination follower design, resolves this maintenance and electrical performance problem. 2 that have been deployed for more than 3 to 5 years routinely suffer delamination between the overmold compound and conductive metal shells, resulting in cable failure. Composite thermoplastic PEEK material, such as used in Glenair’s 10K PSI open-face SeaKing™ connector assemblies, entirely eliminates this type of cathodic delamination. 3 Cathodic Delamination While overall EMI shielding isn’t a priority for connectors submerged in salt water, subsea overmolded cable assemblies

QwikConnect • April 2021